-𝑓𝑎𝑑𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑜 𝑦𝑜𝑢 - 𝑚𝑖𝑑90𝑠 -

TWO

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salem's pov

the next day, i walked into school, the red bruise still noticeable on my cheek. i didnt look at anyone as i walked through the hallway, to my locker and then my classroom.

i made it through the morning, then lunch came. i don't eat anything i get at lunch, i just kinda stare at my food as everyone is sitting with their friends and talking loudly and shit. the mark on my cheek stung a little, especially with the ray of the sun hitting against one side of my face.

"hey salem," suki and her friends walked up to me.
"shit," i mumbled under my breathe, they hated me the most at this school, believe it or not. jayme might've destroyed my board, but these bitches are somehow worse.

"i see you got sunburnt," jasmine said, her friends giggling behind her.
"what? did mommy get mad at you again?"
"we heard what happened last night."
"you're so stupid," they laughed, i didn't look at them once.
"they said you started crying like a little bi-"

"hey, suki," i heard ruben's voice. they all turned, suki grew a smile on her face as she blushed.
"oh, hi ruben!" she said, all fake nice and shit.
"oh, salem," he said as he looked down at me, a smile growing on his lips as he did.
"hey," he said, i couldn't help but turn red (both my face cheeks) as i grinned back.
"hi," i said softly.

suki looked between us in disgust,
"ruben, you should come over tonight! my parents are out of town, i'm throwing a party. merlyn's bringing the booze," suki said as she practically threw herself onto him, the smile faded off my lips as his attention turned to her.
"uh, sure. i'll tell the guys," he said, i pursed my lips, already tired of hearing the popular kids talk.

"great," suki said excitedly, looking down at me. i looked back down at my tray of untouched food.
"don't even think of showing up, bitch," she said into my ear as her and her friends walked away. ugh, as if i'd want to go anyway! my face got hot with anger, god, i hated her guts.

and sure, i'm jealous of suki. she's pretty, she's rich, she's perfect. her and ruben have a thing going on, too, so... there's another reason. i don't know, maybe it's just from the years of her telling me i'm worth shit that were getting to me.

i stared at the table in anger, tapping my foot rapidly, when i realized ruben was still standing there.
"do you... need something?" i asked, he opened his mouth to speak, closing it quickly after.
"um... i'm- i'm sorry about last night," he said, my expression fell a bit as i turned my head back down toward the table.
"oh," i mumbled.

"they were... really drunk and shit. they act up sometimes, i'm sorry about that," he said, i rolled my eyes. yeah, sometimes. i guess they're drunk all the time.
"yeah, whatever. thanks- i guess," i said, getting up and taking my tray with me. i threw my food in the trash, when i turned around, i saw that he was still awkwardly standing there.

"what do you want," i said, getting annoyed. he turned red again.
"i was- uh..." he looked over at his friends as they were laughing at him, or at me. that's when i realized what was happening.
"what happened to your cheek-"
"fuck you," i said, walking past him as i brushed against his shoulder. he caught my arm.
"wait, wait! you didn't answer my question!," he said, i furrowed my eyebrows.

"leave me alone, man," i said, pulling my arm out of his grip. he laughed, along with his friends. i felt my eyes well up, and i didn't even know what the joke was. i went into the bathroom, just staying in a stall for the rest of lunch.

i walked home today, it took fucking forever. i usually skated home, now i was getting home 10 minutes later. the thought of last night brought me to nothing but tears, it was probably the worst night i've ever lived through. i honestly hate simply existing, i seem like such a bother to everyone. at school, i don't fit in anywhere. no one seems to accept me and it's starting to get to me a little.

what's worse is that i don't even have any siblings or anything to keep me company at home when my mom's working. or just to defend me from the people that hate me the most. i don't have anyone that really cares, my mom's never home, and whenever she is, she doesn't acknowledge me or she's yelling at me. so, at this point, i don't even know why i'm trying anymore.

friday rolled around, there was a dance going on at my school that night. i knew i probably shouldn't go, it was probably gonna turn out in me just feeling worse about myself, but i went anyway. i just wanted to get out of the house, and i don't have my board with me, so there's not many other places i can go. plus, i own this old dark blue dress that i don't really have anywhere to wear it to. and looking at myself in the mirror that night, i actually kind of felt a bit secure in my own skin.

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